Weekending.

I've received a few emails requesting the return of my Weekending feature. Guess what? I've missed them too so. . . they're back! Every Monday you'll get a sneak peek into a weekend inside the cozy brick house. Yay! 

This weekend there was. . .

New pillows for my living room chairs,

sunlight on the tippity tops of our backyard trees, 

Aunt Alison's pink strawberry cake,

and costumes!

Instead of a group costume like last year, the children wanted to be completely different things. We took a hobo, a ceiling fan, a cowgirl, a cheerleader and batman with us to our church party Saturday evening.

Other highlights: A late night trip to Target all by myself, baby holding (dangerous for a person like me), long phone conversations with people I admire and caramel apples. Lots + lots of caramel apples.

You can read the earlier editions of Weekending right here.

Halloween Treat Printable.

Today was Audrey's Halloween party at her little school. She had her costume picked out, she had her shoes by the door but she was missing treat bags to share with her friends. (I remembered that little detail at 2 am, does that ever happen to any of you?) 

As soon as I got up for the day I took inventory of my stash and found kraft label paper + muslin bags. They would be perfect! I quickly designed up these Boo! stickers and miraculously had everyone to school on time. Seriously, it was a miracle.

I turned the labels into a printable for you dears. You know, just in case you find yourselves in a pinch too. You can download + print to your hearts content right here.

You can purchase kraft label paper here. Oh, and this is a good resource for muslin bags.

Found Favorites | Olive Manna.

I've been a fan of Olive Manna for years. My packaging loving heart can't resist the cute tags + bags. On my most recent visit I was thrilled to see how the site (and inventory!) has grown and now includes home goods and a sweet little vintage collection. Everyone needs bingo chip magnets, right?

Holiday Gift Swap.

Are you a handmade artist? Do you plan on giving handmade this year? Susan of Freshly Picked and Kersey of Ardor are hosting a Holiday Gift Swap and it just may be the thing to save your sanity this gift giving season. I just signed up + am excited to get started on the handmade items I'll be swapping.  You should sign up too! Maybe we'll be partners!

Read more about the Holiday Gift Swap here then head to the Freshly Picked Facebook page to sign up!

Pinned.

Confession: I haven't been able to get image #1 out of my head since I pinned it this past week. Isn't it pretty? I am in love with that skirt + imagine it would be perfect for twirling.

Speaking of twirling, I indulged and watched You've Got Mail yesterday during nap time. There may or may not have been cookie dough involved. And some cross stitch. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. I highly recommend it.

1.Casual Tulle Skirt via Bee | 2.DIY Pleated Wrap Skirt from Grand Revival via Erin | 3.Pumpkin + Chocolate from Barefoot in the Kitchen via my original pin | 4.Paper Lovers Heaven from Besotted Brand  spotted via Creature Comforts | 5.Twinkle Lights from La Maison D' Anna G via Julie

Autumn Party.

Happy Monday, friends! Did you have a nice weekend? The highlight of ours was celebrating Abby's 10th Birthday. I kept her party simple, mostly because I was sick most of last week and didn't have the energy to fuss over details. In the end I was happy I didn't stress. The party turned out great and Abby had a wonderful time with her friends.

For decorations, Ryan strung up twinkle lights along the perimeter of our backyard and I stuck vinyl letters on a few of our garden pumpkins to welcome guests. The girls painted pumpkins and had tether ball matches between eating bowls of Abby's favorite soup, pumpkin pie and apple cider.

I'm always amazed at the impact a few strings of lights can make. They instantly make any space feel festive and magical. Which is exactly the way a 10th birthday should feel, no?

Favorites.

I went to dinner and a movie (Footloose!) with some girlfriends last night. This is the exact outfit I wore and have since declared it my fall uniform. It was cozy and casual. Perfect for me. I think the thing I like best about this ensemble is that each piece was carefully selected and acquired over time. The jeans were purchased last winter, the handbag and necklace this past summer, the shoes earlier this month and the shirt just a couple days ago. That's the trick to a happy closet. Be patient + only buy pieces you love.

I'm spending today getting the details of Abby's party finalized + scrubbing the cozy brick house. This weekend is all about relaxing and I'm really looking forward to it. What are your plans? Perhaps a trip to the pumpkin patch? Whatever it is you'll be doing, have fun! I'll look forward to seeing you here next week.

Fall Uniform Resources- Shirt | Jeans | Bag | Necklace | Loafers

Autumn Birthday Party Invitations.

Abby will be having her 10th birthday party tomorrow. 10! Since she's an October baby and fall just so happens to be her favorite season, she chose to have an autumn themed party. I had so much fun with Audrey during all of her party preparations, I knew I wanted Abby involved in the planning of her party too. 

These invitations were very simple to create. To begin, Abby hand wrote all the party information on manila tags. While she wrote away, I created sleeves for the tags out of kraft paper.
 

To tie in the theme of the party we thought it would be fun to give her friends a mini pumpkin along with the invite. We used a vinyl machine to cut each of her friends' initials and adhered them to the pumpkins. We also added a little bunting to the kraft sleeve. To finish the invites off we tied the tag to the pumpkin with a simple black bow.

Pinned.

I just had a realization. I'm currently nursing a bad cold and everything in this post is comforting to me in one way or another. Funny how the subconscious works isn't it? While I get back to getting better, you enjoy clicking around these links. They're good ones.

1.Oooh! from Purl Bee via Leslie | 2.Printable Fall Tags from Swoon via my original pin | 3.Feather Garland from Swoon Events via Natalie | 4.Brown Paper Package from Lovely Package via Miya | 5.An Elbow Patch Tutorial! from Freshly Picked via my original pin.

Make Something | Yarn Wrapped Headbands.

Being the mother of a nearly 10 year old, very crafty girl means I frequently hear the words, "Mommy, can I make something?" While I love creating with Abby it can be difficult finding crafts for her skill level. That's where the idea for the new feature "Make Something" was born. Every so often I will share a favorite (simple) craft that you can do with the little crafty people in your life. First up: yarn wrapped headbands.

A dear friend gifted Audrey a couple of these sweet headbands for her birthday. I knew immediately they would be a fun project for me and Abby to tackle together.

On a recent trip to the craft store we bought plastic headbands and yarn. You'll also need a hot glue gun and scissors for this project.

Step 1: Begin by taking the end of your yarn and glueing it to the very tip of the headband.

Step 2: Wrap the yarn around, covering the plastic end completely.

Step 3: Next, add an inch of glue to the surface of the headband and wrap more yarn.

Continue wrapping the yarn all the way around the headband (no gluing necessary) until you get to the other end and repeat steps 1-3 in reverse order. Trim the end of the yarn.

Abby's always had a difficult time keeping headbands in her fine hair. I'm happy to report these yarn wrapped babies stay in place all day! Plus, they don't give her a headache like the kind with the little plastic comb.

Beauty.

I snapped this picture on our Sunday drive nearly a week ago and have been thinking about it since. Sounds silly, right? Hear me out. 

Inspiration, for me, often comes in unexpected places. It can be a song, a long drive, a color. This time it came in the form of an inconspicuous tiny golden leaf. When I picked up the leaf from the floor of my van it was slightly crumpled. No doubt carried in on the bottom of someones shoe. I was immediately drawn to it's bright yellow hue. Upon closer inspection I saw all the minuscule veins running from the stem up to the tippity top. It was small, for sure. But there was a lot more going on inside that little leaf than could be seen at first glance. It had a purpose. It was intricate. It was beautiful.   

I believe we are all surrounded by beautiful things like that tiny gold leaf everyday. Things like a kind smile from a stranger or a favorite flower in bloom. For me, that day, it was a leaf. These reminders are here to help us find the beauty. We just have to be willing to see the beauty. We have to open our eyes, get past ourselves and see.

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.

xo.

Dandee

Fall Favorites.

Since a good majority of you dears use a reader to view my blog, I thought I'd let you know of a brand new feature. I've been busy collecting some of my favorite posts from the archives, posts I've loved and one's that you've loved, and are featuring them on the sidebar. The featured posts will change frequently and will oftentimes be related to the season, so hop over often. Simply click the image in the grid you're interested in and you'll be taken directly to the original post. It couldn't be easier!

Our Best Bites.

This summer I found myself in a HUGE recipe/cooking slump. My cooking always takes a bit of a dive through the warmer months (I'd rather be by the pool than in a hot kitchen) but this summer was worse. Way worse. It got so bad that I didn't even want to eat the same old recipes in my repertoire. Luckily, a friend told me about the   Our Best Bitescook book and I was immediately cured.

I've visited Sara and Kate's popular blog many times in the past and knew their book wouldn't disappoint, so I had no problem picking it up at Costco for a song. All of the recipes are simple, easy to follow and call for ingredients that I'm familiar with. Plus, they're very child friendly.   The bookitself is spiral bound (love that!) and even has a cute little conversion chart in the front which is very helpful.

I've been cooking out of it for a few weeks now and still haven't been disappointed with a single recipe. We love the buttermilk caramel syrup on pancakes, ice cream, spoons. . . it's so good!

And the sugar cookie recipe is my all time fave.

And don't even get me started on the steak fries. Oliver would be a happy boy if I prepared them everyday. They're delish.

Do you have   Our Best Bites and if so, what's your favorite recipe?

Pinned.

I'm always attracted to simple things. Simple rooms, packaging, recipes, art. By the look of my boards this week, maybe more so than ever? I've been thinking a lot about simplifying life. This fall for the first time in what seems like forever, my children aren't participating in sports. We don't have practices after school or games on Saturdays. It's been simple. And lovely. And I know it's not going to last long (basketball season's just around the corner, you know) but I'm basking in the lightness while it lasts.

1.Serene + Simple from Annaleenas Hem via love letters | 2.Kraft + Black packaging by Scout's Honor Co. from Design Inspiration via April  | 3.Feathers + Fabric from Once Wed via Randi | 4.Cookies from Desserts for Breakfast via Bonnie | 5.Do Good from TWAMIES via Kelly

DIY Watercolor Party Streamers.

I love party streamers! They are an inexpensive way to transform any room into a festive party place. When planning Audrey's Watercolor Party, Lindsay suggested trying to dye white streamers to mimic the look of watercolor. We were both skeptical if it would work but I gave it a shot anyhow. After a couple of failed attempts I came up with a technique that worked and couldn't wait to share my method with you. 

You need to gather some basic supplies. Most can be found in your kitchen:

-glass bowls

-cooling racks

-food coloring

-water

-white party streamers

Fill your glass bowls with a tiny amount of water. I think I used about a cup and a half. Add your selected food coloring colors to the water. I used 15 drops of each color to get the intensity I was looking for.

Place your crepe paper roll into the bowl and let it absorb the water.

Allow the dyed crepe paper party streamers to dry on your cooling racks.

Additional tips:
-Don't use too much water! The crepe paper absorbs the water quickly and will become soggy and unusable if you use too much.
-Give yourself a few days drying time. I made my party streamers the day before Audrey's party and spent a good portion that night drying them with a hair dryer.
-Buy a few extra white crepe paper rolls and test out your method. Depending on the color saturation you're looking for, you may want to use less/more food coloring than I did.